CASE STUDY: Ackerman Auto Rental, New Market, MN

CASE DETAILS: [Note that the merger of Elko and New Market, Minnesota are real. However, the companies and people people mentioned in this case are entirely fictional.]

Barry Ackerman (age 28) took over the Ackerman Auto Rental business from his father (deceased) two years ago. Barry has a Bachelor's degree in business management from the University Of Minnesota [real organization] in May 2005. Ackerman's customer base consists primarily of local businesses that need an extra automobile for out-of-town employees, customers of a next-door auto repair shop who need a replacement car for a day or two, and a variety of customers who need a limousine for special events such as birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, graduation.

Barry has two problems, one requiring a design solution and the other requiring a report solution.

One problem that needs to be resolved is a new design for the company's printed materials. The small cities of New Market and Elko are merging in 2007, and Barry feels the long shadow of his father lingering over the company. Both of these factors mean that Barry needs new stationery products. He wants to retain the customer good will that his father built, but he also wants to modernize and make his own mark on the business. He must order new paper products with the new city name (Elko New Market) including letterhead, envelopes, business cards, and invoices. The logo will also be used in the Ackerman Auto Rental yellow pages advertisement (a black and white version of the logo). Barry has decided that he needs a new logo, and the printer wants the design soon in order to meet Barry's printing deadline. The printer will accept the design in a MS Word file. In the initial R&A interview, Barry stated, "I want a design that is eye-catching, stands out from other rental company logos, and is in good taste. It should be only one or two colors because the printing costs for all new stuff is going to hit our bottom line hard."

Barry's second problem stems from two factors, the stiff competition in the rental car business and the rise of gasoline prices. New Market is situated near Minneapolis, a large metropolitan city, where many national car rental companies are located. Like any industry that must count gasoline and oil products as business expenses, Ackerman Auto Rental has been experiencing shrinking profits in spite of the slight raise in rates that Barry authorized as his first act after his father's death. Barry and his father had been discussing options for replacing the company's aging fleet of five economy cars; four upscale, mid-sized, executive cars, and two limousines. However, Barry has not had the time to research his options, and he needs a report that will provide him with at least three reasonable options to consider. The R&A initial interview contains the notation that although Barry's contract with R&A specifies that the report will provide his top three options, he seemed to want to know which option would be best for his business. We will, therefore, provide a recommendation with reasons, counter-arguments, and rebuttal. Barry will also need to see a progress report as soon as the bulk of the research is complete. .

Teacher Options: For a visual design assignment, students can create a logo. For editing assignments, students may be provided with progress and/or recommendation reports. For writing assignments, students could do the research and write the progress and recommendation reports.

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